Written Answers Nos. 447-463
447. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount that her Department has allocated to the learner fund each year since 2013; and the amount her Department has allocated for 2018. [50965/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Learner Fund was first launched in 2013 but allocations have not taken place on a simple year by year basis, rather new phases of the Learner Fund have been launched on the basis of gauged demand and need in the Early Years sector.
Since 2013, there have been four phases of funding for further education courses in Early Childhood Care and Education accredited by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), and two phases of funding for those in the Early Years sector who have pursued degree relevant degree programmes (in the form of a bursary payment). The total amount of allocated over all phases of funding is 4.2 million. The following table offers a breakdown of funding allotted to each phase.
|
Allocation |
Learner Fund 1 |
Learner Fund 2 |
Learner Fund 3 |
Learner Fund 4 |
Bursary 2017 (R1) |
Bursary 2017 (R2) |
Total |
|
Total |
€1,299,604 |
€838,807 |
€406,283 |
€915,280 |
€621,000 |
€162,750 |
€4,243,724 |
The total amount allocated for this fund in 2018 is 2 million.
448. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount allocated to each county under learner funds 1, 2, 3 and 4. [50966/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the funding was administered in part through the County and City Childcare Committees (CCC), I am able to provide a county by county breakdown of funding, however, funding has always been offered on a national level and not on a county by county basis. The allocation of funding to each county area is a direct reflection of the uptake of the opportunity offered through the Learner Fund and the demand for further education and training that existed in the EY sector in that area at the time. My Department placed no restrictions on the share of the available funding that could be accessed through each CCC.
|
Allocation |
Learner Fund 1 |
Learner Fund 2 |
Learner Fund 3 |
Learner Fund 4 |
Bursary 2017 (R1) |
Bursary 2017 (R2) |
Total |
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
|
|
Carlow County Childcare Committee |
7,085 |
2,130 |
8,240 |
9,420 |
0 |
4,500 |
31,375 |
|
Cavan County Childcare Committee |
4,980 |
8,070 |
6,150 |
11,400 |
9,000 |
3,000 |
42,600 |
|
Clare County Childcare Committee |
55,752 |
31,566 |
2,700 |
24,810 |
14,250 |
2,250 |
131,329 |
|
Cork City Childcare Committee |
45,016 |
12,612 |
123 |
15,720 |
10,500 |
3,000 |
86,971 |
|
Cork County Childcare Committee |
124,528 |
38,408 |
12,360 |
46,500 |
42,750 |
7,500 |
272,046 |
|
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown CC |
30,838 |
43,946 |
73,170 |
29,160 |
28,500 |
3,750 |
209,365 |
|
Donegal County Childcare Committee |
7,610 |
3,015 |
2,040 |
13,200 |
26,250 |
12,000 |
64,115 |
|
Dublin City Childcare Committee |
207,438 |
157,306 |
52,590 |
108,240 |
50,250 |
6,750 |
582,574 |
|
Fingal County Childcare Committee |
86,156 |
109,589 |
37,680 |
75,120 |
30,750 |
6,000 |
345,295 |
|
Galway City and County Childcare Committee |
35,199 |
52,180 |
21,720 |
66,300 |
45,750 |
12,000 |
233,149 |
|
Kerry County Childcare Committee |
33,316 |
3,120 |
14,490 |
18,720 |
9,750 |
4,500 |
83,896 |
|
Kildare County Childcare Committee |
78,827 |
59,906 |
23,085 |
59,290 |
45,000 |
24,000 |
290,108 |
|
Kilkenny County Childcare Committee |
13,331 |
3,229 |
3,120 |
21,420 |
16,500 |
750 |
58,350 |
|
Laois County Childcare Committee |
58,913 |
23,062 |
7,200 |
33,900 |
21,000 |
9,750 |
153,825 |
|
Leitrim County Childcare Committee |
5,867 |
4,410 |
2,820 |
1,540 |
3,000 |
750 |
18,387 |
|
Limerick Childcare Committee |
37,828 |
36,220 |
12,960 |
41,040 |
12,750 |
1,500 |
142,298 |
|
Longford County Childcare Committee |
1,410 |
105 |
9,900 |
6,000 |
3,000 |
2,250 |
22,665 |
|
Louth County Childcare committee |
29,252 |
26,480 |
7,440 |
39,780 |
12,750 |
8,250 |
123,951 |
|
Meath County Childcare Committee |
124,588 |
34,448 |
21,445 |
47,730 |
31,500 |
6,000 |
265,711 |
|
Mayo County Childcare Committee |
16,337 |
6,452 |
960 |
10,680 |
21,000 |
6,750 |
62,179 |
|
Monaghan County Childcare Committee |
8,755 |
3,485 |
4,920 |
13,330 |
20,250 |
750 |
51,490 |
|
Offaly County Childcare Committee |
7,804 |
7,830 |
4,320 |
12,000 |
6,000 |
6,000 |
43,954 |
|
Roscommon County Childcare Committee |
10,388 |
15,278 |
3,860 |
8,480 |
12,750 |
5,250 |
56,006 |
|
Sligo County Childcare Committee |
23,319 |
12,925 |
1,920 |
10,080 |
11,250 |
2,250 |
61,744 |
|
South Dublin Childcare Committee |
82,253 |
73,763 |
30,030 |
85,440 |
30,000 |
4,500 |
305,986 |
|
Tipperary Childcare Committee Limited |
57,395 |
25,958 |
8,520 |
18,120 |
20,250 |
10,500 |
140,743 |
|
Waterford Childcare Committee |
13,940 |
10,903 |
2,400 |
13,230 |
14,250 |
750 |
55,473 |
|
Westmeath County Childcare Committee |
26,023 |
2,700 |
8,250 |
25,250 |
11,250 |
3,000 |
76,473 |
|
Wexford County Childcare Committee |
20,003 |
9,960 |
6,270 |
16,500 |
21,750 |
3,000 |
77,483 |
|
Wicklow County Childcare Committee |
45,452 |
19,753 |
15,600 |
32,880 |
39,000 |
1,500 |
154,184 |
|
Total |
1,299,604 |
838,807 |
406,283 |
915,280 |
621,000 |
162,750 |
4,243,724 |
449. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of persons who have benefitted from the learner fund each year since 2013. [50967/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Learner Fund was first launched in 2013 but allocations have not taken place on a simple year by year basis, rather new phases of the Learner Fund have been launched on the basis of gauged demand and need in the Early Years sector.
Please see the following table which highlights the number of person who have benefitted from the learner fund each year since 2013.
|
Learner Fund Rounds |
Learner Fund Recipients |
|
LF1 April 2014 |
1,609 |
|
LF2 November 2014 |
1,089 |
|
LF3 October 2015 |
572 |
|
LF4 January 2016 |
860 |
|
Bursary February 2017 |
863 |
|
Bursary November 2017 |
217 |
450. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of capitation that has been paid to early childhood care and education facilities since 2011, by year. [50968/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is my understanding that the Deputy is referring to the capitation payments paid to childcare providers for providing the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Please see the following table, which contains the relevant information.
|
Programme Year |
Amount paid |
|
ECCE 2010-2011 |
€155,640,509 |
|
ECCE 2011-2012 |
€160,721,189 |
|
ECCE 2012-2013 |
€160,616,357 |
|
ECCE 2013-2014 |
€160,897,983 |
|
ECCE 2014-2015 |
€162,695,265 |
|
ECCE 2015-2016 |
€178,181,687 |
|
ECCE 2016-2017 |
€273,993,749.80 |
|
ECCE 2017-2018 (To date) |
€75,175.585.77 |
451. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department has allocated to a programme (details supplied) in 2017. [50970/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra452. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department has allocated to a programme (details supplied) for 2018. [50971/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra453. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department allocated to a programme (details supplied) in the years 2015 and 2016. [50972/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra454. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department has allocated to a programme (details supplied) in 2017. [50973/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra455. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department has allocated to a programme (details supplied) since 2014. [50974/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 451 to 455, inclusive, together.
The National Síolta Aistear initiative was established in late 2016. Its purpose is to provide central support and coordination of Síolta (The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education) and Aistear (The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework) implementation across the Early Years sector. The Síolta Quality Assurance Programme (QAP) and professional development in Aistear are resourced through the National Síolta Aistear initiative. This initiative is funded by DCYA and is a joint initiative between DCYA, DES and NCCA.
The National Síolta Aistear Initiative is recorded on the same expenditure line within my Department’s allocation and its first allocation was in the 2017 budget.
The allocation for this initiative in 2017 was €500k and I’m pleased to confirm that this level of allocation will be repeated in 2018.
456. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children eligible under bands A, AJ, B and D, respectively, by age bracket. [50975/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra457. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding that her Department provided to bands A, AJ, B and D in 2017; and the amount she has allocated to same in 2018. [50976/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 456 and 457 together.
In the 2017/2018 programme year the bands and eligibility have changed with children who would have qualified for band B in 2016/17 now being spilt between band B and a new band, band D. These ‘September Measures’ include a universal payment together with an average 50% increase to the band rates of the CCS/CCSP targeted schemes.
It is estimated that the full-year cost of extending childcare subsidy rates for band A, band AJ and band B beneficiaries of the CCS scheme, in addition to the new band D being created in respect of children who are entitled to hold the over 6 GP visit card and a new universal payment (for children who are between the ages of 6 months until the age they qualify for entry into the ECCE scheme) would be approximately €90 million (€20 million of which relates to CCSU). It should be noted that these estimates are subject to fluctuations based on numbers of eligible children registering and parental behaviours in relation to attendance etc.
Funding for childcare programmes is allocated by programme, not by band. To assist the Deputy in her query I am providing the following table which shows a breakdown of the costings for the number of children for the 2016/17 & 2017/18 programme years.
|
2016/17 costs |
2016/17 No. of children |
2017/18 Estimated costs |
2017/18 CCS* No. of children |
2017/18 CCSP No. of children |
|
|
Band A |
€27,739,819 |
14,121 |
€60 m |
12856 |
5779 |
|
Band AJ |
€5,841,370 |
4,459 |
€12 m |
2086 |
1322 |
|
Band B |
€6,621,952 |
8,452 |
€12 m |
3213 |
4475 |
|
Band D |
N/A |
N/A |
€6 m |
421 |
304 |
*These figures relate to the proposed band rate as CCS registrations are still provisional.
Please note the figures for 2017/18 are up to date however registrations continue to come in throughout the year.
A child must be under 15 years of age to be eligible for CCS & CCS Plus, all figures in the above table relate to this age bracket.
458. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children here, by their household's income bracket (details supplied). [50977/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children and Youth Affairs does not compile data on the number of children according to gross income per household nor does it hold data in the format requested. This is a matter for the CSO who are under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach.
459. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of Tusla-registered crèches, by county. [50978/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are 4,496 early years services registered with Tusla. The following table contains a breakdown of these services, by county, as requested by the Deputy.
|
County |
Number of Services |
|
Carlow |
49 |
|
Cavan |
64 |
|
Clare |
147 |
|
Cork |
479 |
|
Donegal |
146 |
|
Dublin |
1196 |
|
Galway |
284 |
|
Kerry |
130 |
|
Kildare |
194 |
|
Kilkenny |
97 |
|
Laois |
82 |
|
Leitrim |
33 |
|
Limerick |
197 |
|
Longford |
35 |
|
Louth |
114 |
|
Mayo |
130 |
|
Meath |
206 |
|
Monaghan |
60 |
|
Offaly |
72 |
|
Roscommon |
55 |
|
Sligo |
70 |
|
Tipperary |
166 |
|
Waterford |
96 |
|
Westmeath |
82 |
|
Wexford |
144 |
|
Wicklow |
168 |
|
Total Services Registered |
4496 |
460. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the capacity of Tusla-registered crèches, by county. [50979/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra461. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the capacity of Tusla-registered crèches for the provision of care to children under one year of age, by county. [50980/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra462. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the capacity of Tusla-registered crèches for the provision of care to children under two years of age, by county. [50981/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra463. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the capacity of Tusla-registered crèches for the provision of care to children under three years of age, by county. [50982/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 460 to 463, inclusive, together.
The capacity of Tusla registered crèches, by county, is as follows.
|
County |
Capacity of Registered Services |
|
Carlow |
2,042 |
|
Cavan |
2,924 |
|
Clare |
4,291 |
|
Cork |
17,684 |
|
Donegal |
5,239 |
|
Dublin |
46,222 |
|
Galway |
10,146 |
|
Kerry |
4,815 |
|
Kildare |
8,074 |
|
Kilkenny |
3,137 |
|
Laois |
3,176 |
|
Leitrim |
1,143 |
|
Limerick |
6,990 |
|
Longford |
1,713 |
|
Louth |
4,239 |
|
Mayo |
3,993 |
|
Meath |
7,367 |
|
Monaghan |
2,740 |
|
Offaly |
2,380 |
|
Roscommon |
2,005 |
|
Sligo |
2,291 |
|
Tipperary |
5,369 |
|
Waterford |
3,735 |
|
Westmeath |
3,252 |
|
Wexford |
4,759 |
|
Wicklow |
5,120 |
|
Total |
164,846 |
It is important to note that the information provided refers to the number of children each service states it can accommodate at registration. The figures refer to the number of children the service can accommodate at any one time and do not capture the total number of children in daily or weekly attendance. For example, a sessional service may have a capacity of 80 children but can cater for up to 160 children in a single day by running morning and afternoon sessions.
Tusla does not collate information on capacity by age range.
However, my Department does hold the requested data for those childcare providers who are in contract with my Department to run one of the Government childcare schemes (ECCE, CCS and TEC) through the Early Years Sector profiles. While this would not account for all Tusla registered childcare providers, it must be noted that in order to enter into contract with my Department, a provider must be registered with Tusla.
The most recent data on capacity within childcare services is contained within the Early Years Sector Profile 2016 - 2017. 3,707 providers responded to the survey in May 2017 (representing a response rate of 84%), with the Profile published in November 2017. The following tables outline the capacity for the all age ranges, 0-12 months, 12-24 months, and 24-36 age range per county, as reported in the 2016-2017 sector profile. The response rate for each county is also included.
|
All age ranges |
Reported Capacity |
Response Rate |
|
Carlow |
2,318 |
79% |
|
Cavan |
3,082 |
94% |
|
Clare |
4,570 |
87% |
|
Cork City |
4,509 |
84% |
|
Cork County |
14,153 |
83% |
|
Donegal |
6,381 |
90% |
|
Dublin - Dublin City |
16,208 |
83% |
|
Dublin - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
7,237 |
80% |
|
Dublin - Fingal |
11,201 |
84% |
|
Dublin - South Dublin |
9,004 |
84% |
|
Galway |
10,046 |
81% |
|
Kerry |
5,779 |
91% |
|
Kildare |
7,879 |
77% |
|
Kilkenny |
3,744 |
84% |
|
Laois |
3,591 |
84% |
|
Leitrim |
1,021 |
84% |
|
Limerick |
6,236 |
74% |
|
Longford |
1,768 |
97% |
|
Louth |
4,129 |
77% |
|
Mayo |
4,437 |
90% |
|
Meath |
6,760 |
83% |
|
Monaghan |
3,681 |
92% |
|
Offaly |
2,341 |
77% |
|
Roscommon |
2,374 |
85% |
|
Sligo |
2,763 |
78% |
|
Tipperary |
6,448 |
92% |
|
Waterford |
3,941 |
78% |
|
Westmeath |
4,133 |
92% |
|
Wexford |
5,464 |
87% |
|
Wicklow |
4,928 |
82% |
|
Total |
170,126 |
84% |
|
Up to 1 year (0-12 months) |
Reported Capacity |
Response Rate |
|
Carlow |
56 |
79% |
|
Cavan |
65 |
94% |
|
Clare |
109 |
87% |
|
Cork City |
104 |
84% |
|
Cork County |
274 |
83% |
|
Donegal |
122 |
90% |
|
Dublin - Dublin City |
528 |
83% |
|
Dublin - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
298 |
80% |
|
Dublin - Fingal |
228 |
84% |
|
Dublin - South Dublin |
244 |
84% |
|
Galway |
228 |
81% |
|
Kerry |
117 |
91% |
|
Kildare |
153 |
77% |
|
Kilkenny |
44 |
84% |
|
Laois |
60 |
84% |
|
Leitrim |
23 |
84% |
|
Limerick |
150 |
74% |
|
Longford |
39 |
97% |
|
Louth |
33 |
77% |
|
Mayo |
41 |
90% |
|
Meath |
112 |
83% |
|
Monaghan |
92 |
92% |
|
Offaly |
20 |
77% |
|
Roscommon |
42 |
85% |
|
Sligo |
64 |
78% |
|
Tipperary |
124 |
92% |
|
Waterford |
65 |
78% |
|
Westmeath |
52 |
92% |
|
Wexford |
88 |
87% |
|
Wicklow |
69 |
82% |
|
Total |
3,644 |
84% |
|
Up to 2 years (0-24 months) |
Reported Capacity |
Response Rate |
|
Carlow |
196 |
79% |
|
Cavan |
248 |
94% |
|
Clare |
383 |
87% |
|
Cork City |
536 |
84% |
|
Cork County |
925 |
83% |
|
Donegal |
505 |
90% |
|
Dublin - Dublin City |
1,908 |
83% |
|
Dublin - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
908 |
80% |
|
Dublin - Fingal |
855 |
84% |
|
Dublin - South Dublin |
849 |
84% |
|
Galway |
820 |
81% |
|
Kerry |
471 |
91% |
|
Kildare |
535 |
77% |
|
Kilkenny |
240 |
84% |
|
Laois |
221 |
84% |
|
Leitrim |
83 |
84% |
|
Limerick |
480 |
74% |
|
Longford |
160 |
97% |
|
Louth |
256 |
77% |
|
Mayo |
208 |
90% |
|
Meath |
403 |
83% |
|
Monaghan |
348 |
92% |
|
Offaly |
104 |
77% |
|
Roscommon |
141 |
85% |
|
Sligo |
283 |
78% |
|
Tipperary |
501 |
92% |
|
Waterford |
260 |
78% |
|
Westmeath |
256 |
92% |
|
Wexford |
374 |
87% |
|
Wicklow |
227 |
82% |
|
Total |
13,684 |
84% |
|
Up to 3 years (0-36 months) |
Capacity Reported |
Response Rate |
|
Carlow |
429 |
79% |
|
Cavan |
580 |
94% |
|
Clare |
856 |
87% |
|
Cork City |
1,273 |
84% |
|
Cork County |
2,045 |
83% |
|
Donegal |
1,164 |
90% |
|
Dublin - Dublin City |
4,107 |
83% |
|
Dublin - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown |
1,875 |
80% |
|
Dublin - Fingal |
1,856 |
84% |
|
Dublin - South Dublin |
1,877 |
84% |
|
Galway |
1,844 |
81% |
|
Kerry |
1,006 |
91% |
|
Kildare |
1,401 |
77% |
|
Kilkenny |
607 |
84% |
|
Laois |
539 |
84% |
|
Leitrim |
199 |
84% |
|
Limerick |
1,056 |
74% |
|
Longford |
348 |
97% |
|
Louth |
670 |
77% |
|
Mayo |
591 |
90% |
|
Meath |
930 |
83% |
|
Monaghan |
780 |
92% |
|
Offaly |
282 |
77% |
|
Roscommon |
351 |
85% |
|
Sligo |
590 |
78% |
|
Tipperary |
1,166 |
92% |
|
Waterford |
694 |
78% |
|
Westmeath |
695 |
92% |
|
Wexford |
961 |
87% |
|
Wicklow |
633 |
82% |
|
Total |
31,405 |
84% |
